James Sylvanus St John's Obituary
Jim was born in Los Angeles California on May 5 1938 to Sylvanus and Olive (Roberts) St. John. Growing up, some of his fondest memories are of fishing in the ocean with his brother Bob and spending time with his Uncle Rance on the beach.
After Graduating from John Marshall Sr. high school, he attended LA community college and went on to work for the Los Angeles county gas company which serviced some inner city areas including the Watts neighborhood. He shared many harrowing and humorous tales of his adventures as "the gas man." He would recollect his days of shutting off gas service in the middle of the night to those who had failed to pay their gas bill and the funny interactions he had with the children he'd encounter on his assignments.
After meeting his now wife of 58 years, at a church meeting, Bonnie and Jim were married in the Los Angeles temple on July 11th 1964. They then moved to Utah, where Bonnie taught school and Jim attended BYU, where he earned his masters degree in psychology. Jim and Bonnie became the proud parents of 6 children and have been blessed with 25 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
While working as the Director of Mental Health at Dawson College in Glendive Montana, he realized he truly wanted to work with children. Jim moved his family back to Utah where he was employed as an elementary school psychologist for the Alpine School district for the majority of his career.
Grandpa Jim always wanted to try his hand at farming because he would reminisce about the perfect tomater plants his father would grow. He also wanted to have a place that all the family could gather, so after retirement he and Bonnie found a perfect spot of land in Payson. You could often find him out on his tractor, giving his kids & grandkids a job when the lawn, alfalfa and fruit trees needed to be tended to
Jim was an avid BYU sports fan and attended as many home football and basketball games as he could with his kids and while sitting in game-day traffic he would listen to Paul James intently to catch all the pre and post game commentary on the radio
However his real passion in life was buying, selling, fixing or restoring cars. He loved old cars and spent his retired years collecting and showing vintage vehicles. Even in the last months of his life he could be found buying cars on the internet.
The only thing Jim was more passionate about than cars was his family. Everyone knew they were always welcome in their home and that they were missed when not there. There was always an open invitation to Sunday dinners and crab feasts on New Year's Day. His family was the thing he valued most in life and they knew that.
He was a talented storyteller and would often share that gift with his kids and grandkids. He could spin an elaborate yarn that would carry over from one night to the next.
He was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Through the years he served in the church and taught his children the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He is survived by his wife Bonnie Gail St John and their 6 children Kari Lee St. John, Randy St. John, Wendy Smith, Becky Rosenberg, Jamie Scott St. John and Richard James St. John. Jim is preceded in death by his brother Bob as well as his father and mother.
A graveside service will be held June 23, 10:00 am 2022 at Payson City Cemetery
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